Game device, game control program, and method for controlling golf game

ABSTRACT

A game device includes: a screen image generating unit that generates and displays an image of a golf course, a landing point control unit that displays a marker indicating a predicted landing point of a ball, and a shot control unit operative to control a shot. Upon receiving an input instruction for moving the position of the marker, the landing point control unit moves the position of the marker by, changing the azimuth angle of the marker in a continuous manner along with a movement of an indicated position and by changing the radius of the marker discretely, when the position of the marker is represented by a two-dimensional polar coordinate system of which the origin point is a current ball position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

[Technical Field]

The present invention generally relates to game control technology, andmore particularly, to a game device, a game control program, and amethod for controlling a golf game.

The present invention also generally relates to a mobile terminal, andmore particularly, to a mobile terminal provided with a touch panel, acontrol method, and a program.

Description of the Related Art

[Background Art]

Games wherein a user controls a character so as to play golf have gainedpopularity. Also in the real world, there are a lot of people from awide range of ages who play golf, thus golf is a sport having universalpopularity.

A number of golf games are available in the market. However, since thestyle of competition thereof is simple by nature, it is difficult to adda flavor on a golf game and most of the golf games have nothing new orspecial. The present inventors recognize that it is necessary to providean interface with an excellent operability in order to enhance anentertainment experience attained by a golf game, and have developed anew interface technology.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In this background, a purpose of the present invention is to provide atechnology for controlling a game having a higher enjoyment level.

Another purpose of the present invention is to provide a user interfacetechnology with high user friendliness.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a game control programembedded on a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium isprovided. The game control program allows a computer to function as: ascreen image generating unit operative to read out data of a golf coursefrom a storage device, operative to generate an image of the golfcourse, and operative to display the image on a display device; alanding point control unit operative to display a marker in the image ofthe golf course generated by the screen image generating unit, themarker indicating a predicted landing point of a ball when a player'scharacter takes a shot; and a shot control unit operative to control ashot taken by the player's character. Upon receiving an instruction formoving the position of the marker, the instruction having been inputthrough an input device from a player, the landing point control unitmoves the position of the marker by changing the azimuth angle of themarker position in a continuous manner along with a movement of anindicated position that is indicated by the input instruction and bychanging the radius of the marker position discretely, when the positionof the marker is represented by a two-dimensional polar coordinatesystem of which the origin point is a current ball position.

According to another aspect of the present invention, also a gamecontrol program embedded on a non-transitory computer-readable recordingmedium is provided. The game control program allows a computer tofunction as: an acquiring means operative to acquire the orientation ofan input device, which receives an instruction input by a player andwhich is held by the player, from a sensor for detecting the orientationof the input device; a displaying means operative to read out data of agolf course from a storage device, operative to generate an image of thegolf course, and operative to display the image on a display device; adetermining means operative to determine the power or the impact of ashot taken by a player's character controlled by the player, inaccordance with the timing of an instruction that is input by the playerand is received through the input device; a calculating means operativeto calculate the ballistic trajectory of a ball shot by the player'scharacter in accordance with the power or the impact determined by thedetermining means; and a measuring means operative to measure success orfailure of the shot and in case the shot is measured as success,operative to allow the determining means to determine the power or theimpact higher than that of a shot that is measured as failure. Themeasuring means: executes a first measurement so as to acquire theorientation of the input device from the sensor at a predetermined timepoint after a shot by the player's character is started, as to definethe orientation at the predetermined time point as a referenceorientation, as to acquire an orientation of the input device from thesensor after that, and as to measure whether or not the input devicerotates more than or equal to a predetermined first angle from thereference orientation around a predetermined axis; further executes asecond measurement so as to acquire the orientation of the input devicefrom the sensor at a time point when the determining unit receives aninput instruction, as to compare the orientation of the input device atthat time point with the reference orientation, and as to measurewhether or not the orientation of the input device at that time point iswithin a predetermined second angle from the reference orientationaround the predetermined axis; and measures that the shot succeeds ifboth of the first measurement result and the second measurement resultare positive.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a mobileterminal is provided. The mobile terminal can be held by a user andincludes: a display device; a touch panel operative to detect contactwith the display surface of the display device; a rear touch panelprovided on the other side of a surface on which the touch panel ismounted; a control unit operative to control an screen image to bedisplayed on the display device; in case the control unit acquires aninput to the touch panel and concurrently acquires an input to the reartouch panel in a region locating within a predetermined range from aposition corresponding to the input position on the touch panel, thecontrol unit determines that the user pinches an object displayed on thedisplay device at the input position, performs a predetermined processon the object, and reflects the processing result on the screen image.

Optional combinations of the aforementioned constituting elements, andimplementations of the invention in the form of methods, apparatuses,systems, or the like may also be practiced as additional modes of thepresent invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an external view of a game device according to an exemplaryembodiment;

FIG. 2 shows an external view of the game device according to theexemplary embodiment;

FIG. 3 shows a structure of the game device according to the exemplaryembodiment;

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary game screen image where a player's charactertakes a shot;

FIG. 5 shows an exemplary game screen image displaying an area in thevicinity of a predicted landing point of a ball;

FIG. 6 is a diagram for illustrating an appearance where the position ofa marker indicating the landing point of a ball is changed;

FIG. 7 is a diagram for illustrating an appearance where the position ofthe marker indicating the landing point of a ball is changed;

FIG. 8 shows an exemplary game screen image for changing the position ofa tee shot;

FIG. 9 shows an exemplary game screen image for changing the position ofthe tee shot;

FIG. 10 shows an exemplary game screen image for changing the positionof the tee shot;

FIG. 11 shows an exemplary game screen image for changing the positionof the tee shot;

FIGS. 12A and 12B show an exemplary game screen image where a player'scharacter is swinging back;

FIGS. 13A and 13B show an exemplary game screen image where the player'scharacter is swinging down;

FIGS. 14A-14C are diagrams that illustrate requirements for taking apower shot successfully;

FIG. 15 shows a flowchart indicating a process for moving a markerindicating a predicted landing point of a ball;

FIG. 16 shows a flowchart indicating a process for moving a tee-upposition; and

FIG. 17 shows a flowchart indicating a process for measuring success orfailure of a full power shot.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Mode for Carrying Out theInvention

The invention will now be described by reference to the preferredembodiments. This does not intend to limit the scope of the presentinvention, but to exemplify the invention.

A game device according to an exemplary embodiment controls a game thatcontrols a player's character so as to play golf.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show an external view of the game device 10 according tothe exemplary embodiment. The game device 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 area portable game device that a player holds and uses. As shown in FIG. 1,on the front side of the game device 10 (i.e., the side facing to aplayer when the player holds and manipulates the game device 10), aninput device 20 including directional keys 21, buttons 22, a leftanalogue stick 23, a right analogue stick 24, a left button 25, a rightbutton 26, or the like, a display device 68, and a front camera 71 areprovided. With the display device 68, a touch panel 69 for detectingcontact made by a finger of a player, a stylus pen, or the like isprovided. The buttons 22 include a circle button 31, a triangle button32, a square button 33, and a cross button 34.

As shown in FIG. 2, on the backside of the game device 10, a rear touchpanel 70 and a rear camera 72 is provided. Although a display device maybe provided also on the backside of the game device 10 in a similarmanner with that of the front side, a display device is not provided onthe backside of the game device 10 and only the rear touch panel 70 isprovided according to the exemplary embodiment.

A player can, for example, manipulate the buttons 22 with his/her righthand thumb, manipulate the directional keys 21 with his/her left handthumb, manipulate the right button 26 with his/her right hand indexfinger or middle finger, manipulate the left button 25 with his/her lefthand index finger or middle finger, manipulate the touch panel 69 withhis/her thumbs of both hands, and manipulate the rear touch panel 70with his/her ring fingers or pinky fingers of both hands while holdingthe game device 10 with his/her both hands. In case of using a styluspen, or the like, for example, the player can manipulate the touch panel69 and the buttons 22 with the right hand by using the stylus pen or byusing the index finger, manipulate the directional keys 21 with the lefthand thumb, manipulate the left button 25 with the left hand indexfinger or middle finger, and manipulate the rear touch panel 70 with theleft hand ring finger or the pinky finger while holding the game device10 with the left hand.

FIG. 3 shows the structure of the game device 10 according to theexemplary embodiment. The game device 10 comprises the input device 20,a control unit 40, a parameter retaining unit 60, a game data retainingunit 62, a screen image generating unit 66, the display device 68, thetouch panel 69, the rear touch panel 70, the front camera 71, the rearcamera 72, a tri-axial gyro sensor 75, and a tri-axial accelerationsensor 76. Those elements are implemented by a CPU of a computer,memory, a program loaded into the memory, or the like in terms ofhardware components. FIG. 3 depicts functional blocks implemented bycooperation of these components. Therefore, it will be obvious to thoseskilled in the art that the functional blocks may be implemented in avariety of ways, by hardware only, software only, or a combinationthereof.

The front camera 71 captures an image of the front side of the gamedevice 10. The rear camera 72 captures an image of the backside of thegame device 10. The input device 20, the touch panel 69, and the reartouch panel 70 are provided on the surface of a housing of the gamedevice 10, as described above, and receive an operation input by a user.

The tri-axial gyro sensor 75 detects an angular speed in each of an XZplane, a ZY plane, and a YX plane of the game device 10. The tri-axialgyro sensor 75 may be a mechanical gyro sensor such as a rotor gyro or avibration gyro, or may be a fluidic gyro sensor or an optical gyrosensor. By integrating an angular speed around each of the three axesdetected by the tri-axial gyro sensor 75, a rotation amount around eachof the three axes can be calculated.

The tri-axial acceleration sensor 76 incorporates a mass supported by abeam. By detecting the change of the position of the mass caused byacceleration, the tri-axial acceleration sensor 76 detects theacceleration of the game device 10 in each of the three-axis direction,X, Y, and Z. The tri-axial acceleration sensor 76 may be a mechanical,optical, or semiconductor acceleration sensor. By using the tri-axialacceleration sensor 76, the relative angle of each of the three axes X Yand Z of the game device 10 to the direction of the gravitationalacceleration can be detected, which enables the calculation of theorientation of the game device 10. By integrating the acceleration ineach of the three axes, the velocity can be calculated, and by furtherintegrating, the distance of movement can be calculated.

The control unit 40 reads out a program from the game data retainingunit 62 that stores the program of the golf game and executes theprogram so as to make the game progress while controlling the motion ofthe player's character, which functions as a golf player in the gameworld, on the basis of an received operation that has been input via theinput device 20, the touch panel 69, the rear touch panel 70, or thelike from a player. The parameter retaining unit 60 retains a parameternecessary for the progression of the golf game. The screen imagegenerating unit 66 generates a game screen image that is controlled bythe control unit 40 and allows the display device 68 to display thescreen image.

The control unit 40 includes a shot control unit 41, a club selectionunit 46, a landing point control unit 47, a tee position control unit48, a ballistic trajectory calculation unit 50, a player shooting unit52, and a background control unit 53. The shot control unit 41 controlsa shot taken by a player's character. The shot control unit 41 includesa camera control unit 42, a power determination unit 44, an impactdetermination unit 45, and a power shot control unit 51.

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary game screen image where a player's charactertakes a shot. In the shot screen image 100, an image where geographicfeatures of a course where golf is played and an image where theplayer's character is viewed from the rear are displayed. While thisscreen image is displayed, a player manipulates the input device 20 soas to determine the power, the impact, the direction of a shot, andallows the player's character to take the shot.

Before the player's character hits a shot, the club selection unit 46selects a club for hitting the shot in accordance with an instructioninput by the player. When the player's character has a turn to hithis/her next shot, the club selection unit 46 refers to a parameterindicating the ability of the player's character and an average shotdistance for each golf club that the player's character can use that arestored in the game data retaining unit 62, calculates the shot distancefor each club, and stores the distances in the parameter retaining unit60. Then the club selection unit 46 calculates remaining yards from thepresent position of a ball to a pin, compares the remaining yards withthe shot distance of each club, and selects and sets an optimum club.Upon receiving an input through the left button 25 from the player, theclub selection unit 46 displaces the selected club with a club of a shotdistance shorter by one step, and upon receiving an input through theright button 26, the club selection unit 46 displaces the selected clubwith a club of a shot distance longer by one step.

The camera control unit 42 controls the point of view position and theline of sight direction of a camera when the screen image generatingunit 66 generates a game screen image. In case of generating a gamescreen image where a player's character takes a shot, the camera controlunit 42 defines the rear of the player's character as a default settingof the point of view position and defines a direction to see theplayer's character as a default setting of the line of sight direction.The player can manipulate the input device 20 so as to change the pointof view position and/or the line of sight direction in order to checkthe geographic features of a golf course and/or in order to determine adirection and/or a distance to take a shot. Upon receiving an inputthrough the triangle button 32 while the shot screen image 100 isdisplayed, the camera control unit 42 defines the point of view positionas a position obliquely above a landing point of a ball predicted incase that a shot is taken by the club currently selected and makes ashift to a screen image that displays an area in the vicinity of thepredicted landing point.

FIG. 5 shows an exemplary game screen image displaying the area in thevicinity of the predicted landing point of a ball. Displayed on thelanding site screen image 102 are an image where the area in thevicinity of the predicted landing point is viewed from obliquely abovethe area, and a marker 104 that indicates the landing point of a ballpredicted in case that a shot is taken straightly with optimum valuesboth in the power and the impact. While this landing site screen image102 is displayed, the player can manipulate the left analogue stick 23so as to move the point of view position of the camera and can check thegeographic features of the golf course in the vicinity of the landingpoint of the ball, etc. Upon receiving an input through the cross button34 while the landing site screen image 102 is displayed, the cameracontrol unit 42 makes a shift to the shot screen image 100.

Upon receiving a drag manipulation on the landing site screen image 102shown in FIG. 5, on the touch panel 69 at the position where the marker104 is displayed, the landing point control unit 47 moves the marker 104along with a movement of an indicated position that is indicated by afinger or a thumb of the player. A leftward or rightward shift of themarker 104, which is the change in the azimuth angle when represented bya two-dimensional polar coordinate system, corresponds to the change ofa direction of a shot to be taken by the player's character. Thus, thelanding point control unit 47 instructs the shot control unit 41 tochange the direction of the shot to be taken by the player's character,as well as changing the azimuth angle of the marker 104 in a continuousmanner. By contrast, a backward or forward (upward or downward on thescreen) shift of the marker 104, which is the change in the radius whenrepresented by a two-dimensional polar coordinate system, corresponds tothe strength of a shot. Since the player should hit a ball so as tocontrol the strength of a shot by adjusting the power or the impact, thelanding point control unit 47 does not change the radius of the marker104 in a continuous manner. In case that the user moves the marker 104forward or backward by more than or equal to a predetermined amount, themarker 104 is moved intermittently among positions corresponding torespective shot distances of clubs, by changing a club to be used for ashot. That is, the radius of the marker 104 is changed intermittentlyamong a plurality of values that are defined in advance as an averageshot distance when the player's character takes a shot by using anavailable club and that are stored in the parameter retaining unit 60,the game data retaining unit 62, or the like.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are diagrams for illustrating an appearance where theposition of the marker indicating the landing point of a ball ischanged. A player drags the marker 104 by a finger or a thumb in thelower right direction, and the landing point control unit 47 acquiresthe position of the finger or the thumb as an indicated position 114. Incase the distance between the current ball position and the indicatedposition 114 falls within a predetermined range of which the lower limitis the distance of the radius of an arc 110 and of which the upper limitis the distance of the radius of an arc (not shown), the marker 104 ismoved as shown in FIG. 6 to the position of the intersection of an arc106 and a line connecting the current ball position and the indicatedposition 114, wherein the radius of the arc 106 represents the shotdistance expected in case that the player's character takes a shot byusing the club currently selected. That is, the marker 104 is movedalong the arc 106 and not moved in the direction parallel to a lineconnecting the current ball position and the marker 104. The landingpoint control unit 47 instructs the shot control unit 41 to change thedirection of a shot to be taken by the player's character to thedirection of a line connecting the current ball position and theposition of the marker 104 after the move.

In case that the distance between the current ball position and theindicated position 114 falls out of the predetermined range, forexample, in case that the indicated position 114 is nearer to thecurrent ball position than the arc 110 as shown in FIG. 7, the landingpoint control unit 47 instructs the club selection unit 46 to switch toa club for a distance shorter by one step. In addition, the landingpoint control unit 47 moves the marker 104 to the position of theintersection of an arc 112 and a line connecting the current ballposition and the indicated position 114, wherein the radius of the arc112 represents the distance of a shot predicted in case that theplayer's character takes the shot by using the newly selected club.

In case that the player drags the marker 104 upward by a finger or athumb from a status shown in FIG. 7, when the indicated position 114moves across an arc 108, the landing point control unit 47 instructs theclub selection unit 46 to switch to a club of a shot distance longer byone step, and moves the marker 104 onto the arc 106. That is, a firstdistance that corresponds to the arc 110 and that functions as athreshold value for switching from a first club, of which the shotdistance corresponds to the arc 106, to a second club, of which the shotdistance corresponds to the arc 112 and of which the shot distance isshorter by one step, is shorter than a second distance that correspondsto the arc 108 and that functions as a threshold value for switchingfrom the second club to the first club. In other words, a range of theindicated position 114 where the selection of the first club ismaintained and a range of the indicated position 114 where the selectionof the second club is maintained overlap at least partly. In thismanner, by providing hysteresis when switching clubs, a situation whereclubs are often switched when the indicated position is in the vicinityof a boundary area can be avoided. This can provide a user interfacewith favorable operability. The arcs 106 and 112 indicating the shotdistance of clubs and/or the arcs 108 and 110 indicating thresholdvalues for switching clubs may be displayed or may not be displayed onthe landing site screen image 102.

The club selection unit 46 may receive an input via the left button 25or via the right button 26 also when the landing site screen image 102is displayed and may switch clubs. In this process, along with theswitching of the clubs, the landing point control unit 47 moves themarker 104 onto an arc that corresponds to the shot distance of a clubafter the switch.

In case the currently selected club is a 1 wood (a driver), since thereis no club providing a shot distance longer than that, the selected clubcan be switched only to a club providing a shorter shot distance.Therefore, in case that a club of which the shot distance is longer thana predetermined value is selected, the camera control unit 42 may definethe point of view position of the camera so that the marker 104 islocated in the upper half of the screen image when displaying thelanding site screen image 102 in order to allow a region that positionsnearer than the marker 104 to the current ball position to be displayedlarger than a farther region. By contrast, in case that a club of whichthe distance is shorter than the predetermined value is selected (e.g.,in case that the currently selected club is a 9 iron, a wedge, or thelike) the camera control unit 42 may define the point of view positionof the camera so that the marker 104 is located in the lower half of thescreen in order to allow the region that positions farther than themarker 104 to the current ball position to be displayed larger than thenearer region. This can provide a user interface with favorableoperability.

In case that a player drags a finger or a thumb in a predeterminedregion near the left, right, top or bottom side on the landing sitescreen image 102, the camera control unit 42 moves the point of viewposition of the camera in that direction and the screen image isscrolled. If the player detaches the thumb or finger so as to stop thedrag manipulation, the camera control unit 42 may define the point ofview position of the camera so that the current position of the marker104 moves to the center. Alternatively, in case that a club of which theshot distance is longer than or shorter than the predetermined value isselected as described above, the camera control unit 42 may define thepoint of view position of the camera so that the position of the marker104 is moved to a predetermined position in the upper half or in thelower half of the screen image.

Although in the example described above, an explanation has been made ona case wherein the indicated position is moved by a drag manipulation onthe touch panel 69, the indicated position may be moved by using thedirectional keys 21, the analogue stick, or the like, or may be moved byusing a pointing device, such as a mouse, or the like.

Before the player's character hits a tee shot, the tee position controlunit 48 determines a position for teeing up a ball in accordance with aninstruction input by a player. In the shot screen image 100 for hittinga tea shot shown in FIG. 4, upon receiving an input by tapping on thetouch panel 69 at the position where the ball is displayed, the teeposition control unit 48 makes a shift to a game screen image thatdisplays the tee ground and receives an input instruction for changingthe position for teeing up a ball. Upon receiving an input via thedirectional keys 21, the tee position control unit 48 moves the positionof the tee shot in the instructed direction.

In case the tee position control unit 48 acquires an input to the touchpanel 69 at a position corresponding to a position where the player'scharacter is displayed on the display device 68 and concurrentlyacquires an input to the rear touch panel 70 in a region locating withina predetermined range from a position corresponding to the inputposition on the touch panel 69, i.e., in case the player touches both ofthe touch panel 69 and the rear touch panel 70 concurrently at thepositions where a player's character is displayed, as if the playerholds the player's character between his/her thumb and index finger, thetee position control unit 48 determines that the player holds theplayer's character between his/her finger and thumb. In this process,the tee position control unit 48 displays an appearance of the player'scharacter who is picked up. Upon detecting that the player moves thefinger and the thumb holding the player's character leftward orrightward, the tee position control unit 48 moves the player's characterin the instructed direction, and along therewith, moves the tee positionleftward or rightward. When displaying the appearance of the player'scharacter who is picked up, the tee position control unit 48 may displayan appearance where the player's character moves as if flounderingaround in the air. In this case, the tee position control unit 48controls the motion of the player's character so that the player'scharacter moves as if floundering around. Alternatively, the teeposition control unit 48 may store animation for displaying anappearance of the floundering player's character in the game dataretaining unit 62 beforehand, and may read out and display the storedanimation.

The tee position control unit 48 may acquire pressure when the playerpinches the touch panel 69 and the rear touch panel 70 with his/herfinger and thumb, and may determine the behavior of the player'scharacter in accordance with the pressure. For example, the tee positioncontrol unit 48 may control the player's character so that the higherthe pressure is, the more wildly the player's character floundersaround. In case that the pressure is less than a predetermined thresholdvalue, the tee position control unit 48 may control the player'scharacter so as to be picked up tamely, and in case that the pressure ismore than or equal to the predetermined threshold value, the teeposition control unit 48 may control the player's character so as tobehave as if floundering around. In case that the touch panel 69 or therear touch panel 70 can detect pressure, or in case that a pressuresensor is provided together with the panels, the tee position controlunit 48 acquires detected pressure. In case that a pressure sensor isnot provided, the tee position control unit 48 may calculate pressure inaccordance with an area touched by a finger or a thumb on one of or boththe touch panel 69 and the rear touch panel 70. For example, the teeposition control unit 48 may calculate pressure so that the larger thetouched area is, the higher the pressure is.

FIG. 8 shows an exemplary game screen image for changing the position ofthe tee shot. On a teeing ground screen image 140, a player's character142, a tee up area 144, and a ball 146 are displayed. Upon receiving adrag manipulation on the ball 146 on the touch panel 69, the teeposition control unit 48 moves the ball 146 and the player's character142 in the instructed direction in the tee up area 144.

FIG. 9 shows an exemplary game screen image for changing the position ofthe tee shot. Upon detecting contact concurrently on the touch panel 69and the rear touch panel 70 at the position where the player's character142 is displayed in the teeing ground screen image 140, the tee positioncontrol unit 48 displays the player's character 142 so as to behave asif the character is pinched by a finger and a thumb of the player and ispicked up.

FIG. 10 shows an exemplary game screen image for changing the positionof the tee shot. In FIG. 9, after the player's character 142 is pickedup, if the player shifts the finger and the thumb upwards while holdingthe touch panel 69 and the rear touch panel 70 between the finger andthe thumb, the tee position control unit 48 displays an appearance ofthe player's character 142 who is lifted upwards along with the movementof the finger and the thumb. In this process, the tee position controlunit 48 may display an appearance of the player's character moving as iffloundering around.

FIG. 11 shows an exemplary game screen image for changing the positionof the tee shot. In FIG. 10, after the player's character 142 is pickedup, if the player shifts the finger and the thumb leftward or rightwardwhile holding the touch panel 69 and the rear touch panel 70 between thefinger and the thumb, the tee position control unit 48 moves, along withthe movement of the finger and the thumb, the player's character 142leftward or rightward within a range where the tee-up position stayswithin the tee up area 144. After this, if the player takes off thefinger and the thumb, the tee position control unit 48 displays anappearance of the player's character getting down on the earth, andmoves the ball 146 along with the movement of the player's character142. This allows a player to move the tee-up position in a novel mannerwhere the player pinches the player's character 142 and moves thecharacter 142.

As shown in FIGS. 8-11, the ground in the game space displayed on a gamescreen image is substantially perpendicular to the plane of the touchpanel 69 and the rear touch panel 70. That is, the ground in the gamespace extends in the direction of the depth, which is perpendicular tothe screen of the display device 68. Therefore, the upward or downwarddirection in the game space corresponds to the upward or downwarddirection on the display device 68, the touch panel 69, and the reartouch panel 70. Therefore, if a player holds the position of a characterbetween a finger and a thumb, the character displayed on the displaydevice 68 is moved in the direction of leaving the ground. If the playermoves the finger and the thumb, the character is moved upward, downward,leftward, or rightward along with the movement of the finger and thethumb of the player. If the player detaches the finger and the thumb,the character gets down on the ground. Thereby, the character can beshown as if the player actually pinches the character in the game device10, which can provide a novel representation.

The power determination unit 44 determines the power of the shot takenby a player's character. Upon receiving from the input device 20 aninput operation to which an instruction for starting a shot is assigned,the power determination unit 44 allows the screen image generating unit66 to generate an screen image where the player's character is swingingback in order to hit a ball, and allows the display device 68 to displaythe image. The player inputs through the input device 20 an operation towhich an instruction for determining the power by referring as anindicator the progression degree of the backswing motion of the player'scharacter is assigned. The power determination unit 44 determines thepower of a shot in accordance with the progression degree of a shotmotion of the player's character at a time point when the inputoperation for determining the power is received. The power determinationunit 44 notifies the ballistic trajectory calculation unit 50 of thedetermined power.

The power determination unit 44 determines the power of a shot on thebasis of the ratio between a time period required for the backswingmotion when making a full swing and a time period after backswing isstarted and before the input operation for determining the power isreceived, or the ratio between the number of frames of screen images tobe displayed thereof. The power at a time point when an input operationis received may be determined by interpolation, for example, whileassuming the power at a time point when the backswing is started as 0percent and assuming the power at a time point when the swing is at thetop as 100 percent. In case that a time period required for a full swingis 2 seconds and if an input operation is received 1.6 second after thestart of the backswing, the power may be defined as 80 percent. In casethat the number of frames required for displaying a full swing is onehundred and if an input operation is received seventy frames after thestart of the backswing, the power may be defined as 70 percent. When thepower reaches a predetermined value, e.g., 50 percent and/or 100percent, the power determination unit 44 may display thereof or maychange the display mode of a club head as an indicator for a user totime.

FIGS. 12A and 12B show an exemplary game screen image where a player'scharacter is swinging back. FIG. 12A shows a status where a half of thetime period that is required for a full swing has been passed after theplayer's character started swinging back. Upon receiving an operationinput by a player at this time point, the power determination unit 44determines the power of the shot as 50 percent. FIG. 12B shows a statuswhere the player's character is at the top of the swing. Upon receivingan operation input by the player at this time point, the powerdetermination unit 44 determines the power of the shot as 100 percent.

In case of receiving an input operation during the backswing, the powerdetermination unit 44 may stop the backswing and shift to downswing, ormay allow the character to continue the backswing and may display anappearance of the character swinging fully. In case that an inputoperation has not been received during the backswing and the motion ofthe character has reached the top of the swing, the power determinationunit 44 may determine that the swing is a practice swing so that theshot is not to be taken. Alternatively, the power determination unit 44may define that the power gradually decreases during the downswing, maycontinue receiving an input operation, and may determine the power inaccordance with the time period after the start of the downswing andbefore the reception of an input operation.

The power determination unit 44 may define that a full swing does notalways produce the power of 100 percent depending on the lie condition,the land features of a bunker when hitting a bunker shot, the stance ofa player's character, or the like. The power determination unit 44 maynot allow the player's character to make a full swing but allow thecharacter to make only a half swing in case of an approach shot, etc.Even in such a case, by providing a function that allows a player'scharacter to make a practice swing as described above, a player canfirst allow the player's character to make a practice swing so as tocheck the relationship between a swing and the power thereof, and cantake a shot accordingly.

The impact determination unit 45 determines the impact of a shot takenby a player's character. After the power of a shot is determined by thepower determination unit 44, the impact determination unit 45 allows thescreen image generating unit 66 to generate a screen image wherein theplayer's character is down-swinging and allows the display device 68 todisplay the image, accordingly. The player inputs through the inputdevice 20 an operation, to which an instruction for determining theimpact is assigned, by timing the input to the strike of a ballfollowing to the downswing made by the player's character. The impactdetermination unit 45 determines the impact of a shot in accordance withthe time difference between a time point when the player's characterhits a ball after a downswing and a time point when the input operationfor determining the impact is received. The impact determination unit 45notifies the ballistic trajectory calculation unit 50 of the determinedimpact. In this process, whether the input operation is received earlieror the later than a time point when the impact reaches 100 percent maybe represented by adding a negative sign in case that the inputoperation is received earlier and by adding a positive sign in case thatthe input operation is received later.

As assistance of an indicator for timing, the impact determination unit45 allows the screen image generating unit 66 to generate a screen imageincluding a graphic symbol that shrinks as time passes and reaches itsminimum size when the player's character strikes a ball (i.e, when ashot can be taken with the highest impact) and allows the display device68 to display the image, accordingly. The player can input an operationfor determining the impact by further referring to the shrinking graphicsymbol as an indicator. The impact determination unit 45 may display agraphic symbol having the center or the center of gravity thereof at theposition of a ball and may allow the graphic symbol to shrink so as tocontract toward the position of the ball. This enables implementation ofa more user-friendly user interface since a player can operate whilevisually checking both of the appearance of a downswing of a player'scharacter and the appearance of a shrinking graphic symbol.

The impact determination unit 45 may determine the impact at a timepoint when an input operation is received by interpolation, for example,while assuming the impact at a time point when the player's characterhits a ball (i.e, when there is no time difference) as 100 percent, andassuming the impact at a time point when the time difference reaches apredetermined upper limit value as a predetermined lower limit. As willbe described later, a correction is made on the shot distance, thedirection, or the like, in the ballistic trajectory calculation unit 50so that the lower the value of the impact determined by the impactdetermination unit 45 is, the farther the ball departs from the targetedlanding point. In case the time difference exceeds the predeterminedupper limit without receiving an input operation after the downswing bythe player's character passes a ball, the impact determination unit 45may determine that the swing is a practice swing so that the shot is notto be taken. Alternatively, the impact determination unit 45 may allowthe player's character to take a shot by automatically defining theimpact as the predetermined lower limit.

FIGS. 13A and 13B show an exemplary game screen image where the player'scharacter is swinging down. FIG. 13A shows a status when the player'scharacter starts the downswing. The impact determination unit 45displays a circle 120 as assistance of an indicator for timing. Theimpact determination unit 45 further displays a graphic symbol 122indicating the diameter of the circle 120 when the impact reaches thelower limit thereof and a graphic symbol 124 indicating the diameter ofthe circle 120 when the impact reaches the upper limit thereof, forexample, 100 percent. When an input operation is received while thediameter of the circle 120 is larger than the diameter shown by thegraphic symbol 122, the impact determination unit 45 may define theimpact as the predetermined lower limit value. In this case, theballistic trajectory calculation unit 50 may define the shot as a missshot, as will be described later. In case that an input operation isreceived while the diameter of the circle 120 is smaller than thediameter shown by the graphic symbol 124, the impact determination unit45 may define the impact as the predetermined upper limit, for example,100 percent. In case that an input operation is received while thediameter of the circle 120 is smaller than the diameter shown by thegraphic symbol 122 and larger than the diameter shown by the graphicsymbol 124, the impact determination unit 45 may define a value betweenthe predetermined upper limit value and the predetermined lower limitvalue in accordance with the time point when the input operation isreceived. FIG. 13B shows a status right before the player's characterstrikes a ball. The impact determination unit 45 shrinks the circle 120so that the circle 120 reaches its minimum size at the moment when theplayer's character strikes the ball. In case that no input operation hasbeen received by the moment when the player's character strikes theball, the impact determination unit 45 may expand the circle 120thereafter. In this case, the impact may be defined as the upper limitvalue while the diameter of the circle 120 is smaller than the diametershown by the graphic symbol 124 and the impact may be defined as thelower limit value when the diameter of the circle 120 is larger than thediameter shown by the graphic symbol 122. In case that no inputoperation is received even at the moment when the diameter of the circle120 becomes larger than the diameter shown by the graphic symbol 122,the impact may be automatically defined as the lower limit value whenallowing the player's character to take a shot. As another example, theimpact determination unit 45 may define the impact as the lower limitvalue when the diameter of the circle 120 is larger than the diametershown by the graphic symbol 122 and may define the impact as the upperlimit value when the diameter of the circle 120 is the same as thediameter shown by the graphic symbol 124 while ensuring that the impactbecomes larger as the diameter of the circle 120 becomes smaller.Thereafter, the impact may be defined so as to become smaller graduallyas the diameter of the circle 120 becomes smaller than the diametershown by the graphic symbol 124.

As yet another example, the impact determination unit 45 may displayboth: a) a graphic symbol that moves leftward and rightward or upwardsand downwards, or along an arbitrary straight line or curved line astime passes; and b) a gauge that indicates the position of a graphicsymbol for the maximum impact, as an indicator for a player to time anoperation to input to the strike. Alternatively, the impactdetermination unit 45 may determine the impact or the power of a shot inaccordance with the angle, velocity, pressure, etc., of the tilting ofthe analog stick of the input device 20.

The ballistic trajectory calculation unit 50 calculates the ballistictrajectory of a shot by a physical calculation based on the power andthe impact of a shot determined by the shot control unit 41 and based onthe external factors such as the lie of a ball, a wind, land features,or the like.

The ballistic trajectory calculation unit 50 reads out from theparameter retaining unit 60 the initial velocity and the loft angle thatare predetermined in advance in accordance with a club used to take ashot. Based on the read out velocity and loft angle, the ballistictrajectory calculation unit 50 adjusts the initial velocity or the loftangle in accordance with the power determined by the power determinationunit 44, the impact determined by the impact determination unit 45, anattribute value such as physical strength defined for each player'scharacter, the lie of a ball, etc. For example, the ballistic trajectorycalculation unit 50 may multiply the initial velocity by the percentagevalue of the power or the impact so that the higher the power or theimpact is, the faster the initial velocity is. The ballistic trajectorycalculation unit 50 may adjust the direction, the velocity, or the likeof a flying ball so that the smaller the value of the impact is, thefarther the ball departs from the targeted landing point. For example,in case that an input operation is received earlier than the moment whenthe impact reaches 100 percent, the trajectory of the ball may be bentrightward so as to produce a slice, and in case that an input operationis received later, the trajectory may be bent leftward so as to producea hook. In case that the impact is below the predetermined lower limit,the shot may be determined to be missed, and the trajectory may becalculated with an extremely reduced initial velocity. In case of a shotfrom the rough or a bunker, the initial velocity may be reduced comparedto a shot from the fairway. The initial velocity may be reduced if theinclination of the ground under the ball is large. In case that theplayer inputs an operation to change the initial velocity and/or theloft angle when taking a shot, the initial velocity and/or the loftangle may be adjusted further in consideration of the effects thereof.

Upon determining the initial velocity and the loft angle, the ballistictrajectory calculation unit 50 calculates the position of the ball foreach frame while adjusting the velocity in accordance with a forceapplied to the ball. The ballistic trajectory calculation unit 50 adds avelocity per frame to the coordinates of the current ball position andcalculates the coordinates of the ball position in the subsequent frame,accordingly. Gravity, aerodynamic lift force, wind force, and airresistance are added to the velocity of the ball for each frame. Thegravitational force is assumed as 9.8 meters/second² in the downwarddirection in accordance with the laws of physics. The aerodynamic liftforce is set to be a value that is proportional to the velocity in theupward direction. The wind force may be defined by assuming a constantvelocity in a certain direction everywhere in the golf course or may bechanged depending on the location in the golf course. The air resistanceis defined as a value that is proportional to the velocity in thedirection opposite to the traveling direction. In this manner, bycalculating the ballistic trajectory of a ball while considering thedirection and the velocity of a wind, the difficulty of taking a shotwhile considering the effects of wind can be presented in a similarmanner as that of the actual golfing, and a golf game that is morerealistic can be realized.

In case that a ball hits something, the velocity in the horizontaldirection and in the vertical direction are adjusted in accordance witha friction coefficient and a restitution coefficient defined in advancein accordance with the attributes of the surface that the ball hits. Thefriction coefficient and the restitution coefficient may be set asvalues varying depending on areas, such as, fairway, rough, bunker, etc.The ballistic trajectory calculation unit 50 may further provide thetrajectory with a specific computation, which has no relationship withthe laws of physics, as a rendering effect. This adds variety to thegolf game and thus enhances the entertainment experience of the game.

The screen image generating unit 66 defines the viewpoint position andthe line of sight of the camera in accordance with the position of theball calculated by the ballistic trajectory calculation unit 50 so thatthe ball is displayed in a screen image, generates a screen imageshowing an appearance of a flying ball, and displays the image on thedisplay device 68, accordingly. If the ball comes to rest, the scene isswitched to a next shot.

In case that a power shot, which can produce a shot distance beyond theability of the player's character, is selected, the power shot controlunit 51 measures success or failure of the power shot. In case that apower shot is selected, the range of time period enabling the maximumimpact is defined as a shorter period in comparison with that of anormal shot. Upon receiving an input instruction to determine the impactwithin the time period that is set shorter than that of a normal shot,the power shot control unit 51 measures that the power shot has beentaken successfully.

According to the exemplary embodiment, the power shot control unit 51allows a character to take a full power shot, which can produce afurther long shot distance in comparison with a normal power shot. Thefull power shot is measured as success if all of the conditions beloware met. (1) A power shot is selected. (2) A second input instructionfor determining the power is received at a favorable timing after afirst input instruction for starting a swing is received. (3) A playerturns the game device 10 as if pulling the upper side of the game device10 toward the player by more than or equal to a predetermined angleafter the second instruction is input. (4) A third input instruction fordetermining the impact is received at a favorable timing. (5) The playerrotates the game device 10 as if pushing the upper side of the gamedevice 10 away from the player by the third input instruction so thatthe orientation of the game device 10 is turned back at the time of thethird input instruction to an orientation substantially same with theorientation at the time of the second input instruction. The power shotcontrol unit 51 measures success or failure of a full power shot bymeasuring whether or not the above conditions are met.

The power shot control unit 51 acquires, from the tri-axial gyro sensor75 or the tri-axial acceleration sensor 76, information relating to theorientation of the game device 10 at the time of the second inputinstruction for determining the power is received, calculates the pitchangle while defining that an axis is along the longitudinal direction ofthe game device 10, and stores the pitch angle as a reference angle inthe parameter retaining unit 60. The power shot control unit 51 acquiresan orientation of the game device 10 after the second input instructionis received, from the tri-axial gyro sensor 75 or the tri-axialacceleration sensor 76 in predetermined time intervals, calculates thepitch angle, and measures whether or not the game device 10 rotates bymore than or equal to a predetermined first angle from the referenceangle stored in the parameter retaining unit 60. If the game device 10has never turned more than or equal to the first angle during a timeperiod after the second input instruction is received and before thethird input instruction for determining the impact is received, thepower shot is measured as failure.

The power shot control unit 51 acquires, from the tri-axial gyro sensor75 or the tri-axial acceleration sensor 76, information relating to theorientation of the game device 10 at the time when the third inputinstruction is received, calculates the pitch angle at the time point,and measures whether or not the pitch angle is within a predeterminedsecond angle from the reference angle stored in the parameter retainingunit 60. The range of the second angle may be defined at the front sideof the reference angle, or may be defined at the backside of thereference angle, or may be defined as ranging from the front side to thebackside so as to include the reference angle. If the pitch angle whenthe third input instruction is received is not within the range of thesecond angle, the power shot is measured as failure.

After inputting the second instruction, the player turns the game device10 as if pulling the upper side of the game device 10 toward the playerby more than or equal to the first angle, further turns the game device10 as if pushing the upper side of the game device 10 away from theplayer, and inputs the third instruction by timing the input to theimpact. At the time point when the third instruction is input, if theorientation of the game device 10 has been turned back to an orientationsubstantially same with the orientation at the time of the second inputinstruction, the player can succeed in the full power shot. Uponmeasuring that the full power shot has been taken successfully, thepower shot control unit 51 instructs the power determination unit 44 toincrease the power of the shot by a predetermined value. The incrementof the power may be determined in accordance with the difference betweenthe pitch angle of the game device 10 when the third input instructionis received and the reference angle. For example, a value that increasesas the difference between the pitch angle and the reference angledecreases may be added to the power.

FIGS. 14A-14C are diagrams that illustrate requirements for taking apower shot successfully. It is assumed that the player inputs the secondinstruction in the status shown in FIG. 14A after inputting the firstinstruction for starting a shot. In this process, the power shot controlunit 51 acquires the orientation of the game device 10 from thetri-axial gyro sensor 75 or the tri-axial acceleration sensor 76,calculates an angle AOB, which is defined by the horizontal direction AOand the upward/downward direction of the game device 10 BO, and storesthe angle AOB as a reference angle in the parameter retaining unit 60.The power shot control unit 51 may perform a calibration so that thereference angle is set to 0 degree. In this case, the reference anglemay not be stored in the parameter retaining unit 60. Hereinafter, anexplanation will be given while assuming the calibration is made so thatthe reference angle is set to 0 degree.

In order to measure whether or not the above requirement (3) is met, thepower shot control unit 51 acquires an orientation of the game device 10after the second input instruction is received, from the tri-axial gyrosensor 75 or the tri-axial acceleration sensor 76 in predetermined timeintervals, and measures whether or not the pitch angle BOD exceeds thefirst angle BOC as shown in FIG. 14B. If the angle BOD exceeds the angleBOC, the power shot control unit 51 measures that the requirement (3) issatisfied.

In order to measure whether or not the requirement (5) is met, the powershot control unit 51 acquires the orientation of the game device 10 atthe time when the third input instruction is received, from thetri-axial gyro sensor 75 or the tri-axial acceleration sensor 76, andmeasures whether or not the pitch angle BOG is within the range of thesecond angle, that is, between the angle BOE and the angle BOF as shownin FIG. 14C. If the angle BOG is between the angle BOE and the angleBOF, the power shot control unit 51 measures that the requirement (5) issatisfied.

Although in the example described above, a player is required tomanipulate the game device 10 by inputting via a button while rotatingthe game device 10 back and forth, in another example, a player may berequired to input via a button while moving the game device 10 back andforth. The power shot control unit 51 may measure success or failure ofa full power shot or may determine the increment of the power by notonly using the pitch angle of the game device, but also using the rollangle or the yaw angle. Further, a ballistic trajectory may be changedby using the roll angle or the yaw angle. For example, in case that aplayer inputs the third instruction while giving a twist to the gamedevice 10 leftward or rightward, a ballistic trajectory may be changedto leftward or rightward, accordingly.

In the example described above, the reference orientation is definedwhen the second instruction is input, and it is required to first rotatethe game device forward by more than or equal to the first angle andthen to turn the device back to the reference orientation by the timewhen the third instruction is input. However, a variety of modificationsare possible with the timing or the type of manipulation. For example,the reference angle may be defined when the first instruction is input,and a requirement may be set that a player first rotates the game deviceforward and then turns the device back to the reference orientation bythe time when the second or third instruction is input. Alternatively,the reference angle may be defined when the first instruction is input,and a requirement may be set that a player first pushes the game deviceaway from the player by more than or equal to a predetermined angle,turns the game device back to the reference angle when the secondinstruction is input, then rotates the game device forward by more thanor equal to a predetermined angle, and turns the game device back againto the reference angle when the third instruction is input. In case oftaking a shot by two times input instructions, the reference angle maybe defined when the first instruction is input, and a requirement may beset that a player first rotates the game device forward by more than orequal to a predetermined angle and then turns the device back to thereference orientation by the time when the second instruction is input.Instead of setting an orientation at the predetermined time point as areference, the horizontal direction or the vertical direction in a realworld may be set as a reference. Instead of an angle, a requirement maybe set that an angular speed, a velocity, an acceleration, the amount ofdisplacement, or the like are more than or equal to a predeterminedvalue, or within a predetermined range.

The player shooting unit 52 controls the front camera 71 so as tocapture an image of a player who is playing the golf game. The playershooting unit 52 captures an image of the player in case the player hassucceeded in a wonderful super shot, such as, an ace, a chip-in, analbatross, an eagle, a birdie, an approach shot bringing a ball within apredetermined range from the pin, a shot with which a time point when aninstruction for determining the power or the impact is input within apredetermined time period, etc. Whether or not the player has succeededin the super shot can be measured by a ballistic trajectory calculatedby the ballistic trajectory calculation unit 50 right after the playerinputs the third instruction. Therefore, whether or not to capture animage can be determined while a ball flies in the air. Thus, the playershooting unit 52 may capture an image of the player at an instant when aball drops into the cup, or at an instant when a ball stops near thepin. Alternatively, the player shooting unit 52 may capture a movingimage of the player's face, starting from while the ball still flies inthe air. After a player has succeeded in a super shot, the playershooting unit 52 may first display on a screen that a commemorativephotograph will be taken and then capture an image of the player's face.

The player shooting unit 52 may process the captured photograph of aplayer and may display the photograph, accordingly. For example, theplayer shooting unit 52 may overlap an image of a crown on the head ofthe player or may overlap an image of a medal on the chest of the playerby using face recognition technology, or the like. Since the frontcamera 71 is provided on the right upper position on the game device 10,and the player's face is placed in the right side of a captured image,the left side of the image may be cropped so that the player's face isplaced at the center. The player shooting unit 52 may associate thecaptured player's still image or moving image and replay data stored inthe parameter retaining unit 60 by a replay control unit (not shown) andmay store the image and the data in a recording medium or the like,accordingly. The player shooting unit 52 may allow the image to beattached to a mail or the like to be sent to another player, or mayallow the image to be uploaded to a server so that another player canview the image.

The player shooting unit 52 may capture an image of the player when theplayer has missed a shot, such that a ball lands in an OB area, a waterhazard, a bunker, a rough, or the like. In this case, the playershooting unit 52 may overlap an image of sweat or tears on the capturedphotograph of the player and may display or store the photograph,accordingly.

The background control unit 53 controls the background of a game screenimage. Upon receiving a touch input in the upper half region of the reartouch panel 70, the background control unit 53 switches the backgroundimage of a game screen image to an image captured by the rear camera 72.Normally, sky is displayed in a region where no object exists in a gamescreen image where geographic features of a golf course are rendered.This region is switched to an image around a player in a real world. Thebackground control unit 53 may switch the background of a game screenimage to an image stored in the game data retaining unit 62 or the like.For example, the game screen image may be switched to an image of a realand famous golf course, or to a scenery image, etc. This allows a playerto enjoy the feeling as if playing golf in a real world.

FIG. 15 shows a flowchart indicating a process for moving the positionof a marker indicating a predicted landing point of a ball. On a landingsite screen image for showing an area near a predicted landing point ofa ball, if a player drags a marker by a finger or a thumb (Y in S100),the landing point control unit 47 acquires the position of the finger orthe thumb as an indicated position, and moves the marker along an arc ofwhich the radius represents a shot distance expected in case that aplayer's character takes a shot by using a currently selected club(S102). In case that the distance between the current ball position andthe indicated position exceeds an upper limit of an range formaintaining the current club selection (Y in S104), the landing pointcontrol unit 47 changes the selected club to a club of a shot distancelonger by one step (S106), and moves the marker onto an arccorresponding to the club after change (S108). In case that the distancedoes not exceed the upper limit (N in S104), the steps S106 and S108will be skipped. In case that the distance between the current ballposition and the indicated position falls short of an lower limit of anrange for maintaining the current club selection (Y in S110), thelanding point control unit 47 changes the selected club to a club of ashot distance shorter by one step (S112), and moves the marker onto anarc corresponding to the club after change (S114). In case that thedistance does not fall short of the lower limit (N in S110), the stepsS112 and S114 will be skipped. In case of not receiving a dragmanipulation on the marker (N in S100), the steps S102 through S114 willbe skipped. These steps are repeated while the landing site screen imageis displayed.

FIG. 16 shows a flowchart indicating a process for moving the tee-upposition. In the teeing ground screen image for showing an area near theteeing ground, if a player manipulates the touch screens as if pinchinga player's character (Y in S200), the tee position control unit 48displays an appearance of the player's character who is picked up(S202). If the player makes a drag manipulation while keeping pinchingthe player's character with his/her finger and thumb (Y in S204), thetee position control unit 48 moves the player's character to anindicated position (S206), and moves the tee-up position along with themove of the player's character (S208). In case of not receiving a dragmanipulation (N in S204), the steps S206 and S208 will be skipped. Thesteps S204 through S208 are repeated until the player takes off thefinger and the thumb, that have been pinching the player's character,from the touch screens (N in S210). If the player takes off the fingerand the thumb from the touch panels (Y in S210), the tee positioncontrol unit 48 displays an appearance that the player's characterhaving been held up gets down on the earth (S212). In case of notreceiving a pinching manipulation on the character (N in S200), thesteps S202 through S212 will be skipped. These steps are repeated whilethe teeing ground screen image is displayed.

FIG. 17 shows a flowchart indicating a process for measuring success orfailure of a full power shot. If a first input instruction for startinga shot is received in a state where a power shot is selected (Y inS300), the state is awaited until a second input instruction fordetermining the power is received (N in S302). In case a second inputinstruction is received (Y in S302), if a time point when theinstruction is input is within a predetermined range (Y in S304),information indicating the attitude of the game device 10 at that timeis acquired from the tri-axial gyro sensor 75 or from the tri-axialacceleration sensor 76, and a pitch angle is calculated and is definedas a reference angle (S306). If a time point when the instruction isinput is out of the predetermined range (N in S304), the full power shotis measured as failure (S320), and the process is completed. Next, untila third input instruction for determining the impact is received (N inS308), information indicating the attitude of the game device 10 isacquired at a certain timing from the tri-axial gyro sensor 75 or thetri-axial acceleration sensor 76, and a pitch angle is calculated(S310). If the third input instruction is received (Y in S308), in casethat a time point when the instruction is input is within apredetermined range (Y in S312), it is measured whether the pitch angleof the game device 10 between the input of the second instruction andthe input of the third instruction exceeds the first angle (S314). Ifthe pitch angle exceeds the first angle (Y in S314), it is furthermeasured whether the pitch angle of the game device 10 when the thirdinput instruction is received is within the range of the second angle(S316). If the pitch angle is within the range of the second angle (Y inS316), the full power shot is measured as success (S318), and theprocess is completed. If a time point when the third instruction isinput is out of the predetermined range (N in S312), or if the pitchangle of the game device 10 between the input of the second instructionand the input of the third instruction does not exceed the first angle(N in S314), or if the pitch angle of the game device 10 when the thirdinput instruction is received is out of the range of the second angle (Nin S316), the full power shot is measured as failure (S320), and theprocess is completed. In case of not receiving a first input instruction(N in S300), the steps S302 through S320 will be skipped, and theprocess is completed.

Given above is an explanation based on the exemplary embodiment. Theexemplary embodiment is intended to be illustrative only and it will beobvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications toconstituting elements and processes could be developed and that suchmodifications are also within the scope of the present invention.

According to the exemplary embodiment, an explanation has been given ona technology wherein, if a player pinches the touch panel and the reartouch panel at the positions where a player's character is displayed,the player's character can be picked up and moved. There may be avariety of examples to which a technology that detects a manipulation ofpinching the touch panel and the rear touch panel almost at the samepositions and reflecting the detection on control is applied. Forexample, in case that upward drag manipulation is made before startingan approach shot concurrently on the touch panel and the rear touchpanel at the position where a pin is displayed, i.e., in case that aplayer makes a motion as if pinching the pin and moving the pin upward,control for pulling out the pin may be made. The technology may also beapplied in a manner that a player can pinch an object or the likedisplayed in a screen image and can move the object upward, downward,leftward, or rightward.

Further inventive features of the present embodiments are defined in thefollowing paragraphs:

1. A game control program embedded on a non-transitory computer-readablerecording medium, allowing a computer to perform a method comprising:

acquiring the orientation of an input device, which receives aninstruction input by a player and which is held by the player, from asensor for detecting the orientation of the input device;

reading out data of a golf course from a storage device, generating animage of the golf course, and displaying the image on a display device;

determining the power or the impact of a shot taken by a player'scharacter controlled by the player, in accordance with the timing of aninstruction that is input by the player and is received through theinput device;

calculating the ballistic trajectory of a ball shot by the player'scharacter in accordance with the power or the impact determined; and

measuring success or failure of the shot and in case the shot ismeasured as success, determining the power or the impact higher thanthat of a shot that is measured as failure, wherein

the measuring includes:

executing a first measurement so as to acquire the orientation of theinput device from the sensor at a predetermined time point after a shotby the player's character is started, as to define the orientation atthe predetermined time point as a reference orientation, as to acquirean orientation of the input device from the sensor after that, and as tomeasure whether or not the input device rotates more than or equal to apredetermined first angle from the reference orientation around apredetermined axis;

executing a second measurement so as to acquire the orientation of theinput device from the sensor at a time point when receiving the inputinstruction, as to compare the orientation of the input device at thattime point with the reference orientation, and as to measure whether ornot the orientation of the input device at that time point is within apredetermined second angle from the reference orientation around thepredetermined axis; and

measuring that the shot succeeds if both of the first measurement resultand the second measurement result are positive.

2. The game control program according to paragraph 1, wherein thedetermining includes:

determining the power of the shot in accordance with a time point when asecond instruction is input by the player after the shot of the player'scharacter is started by a first instruction input by the player; and

determining the impact of the shot in accordance with a time point whena third instruction is input by the player, wherein

the measuring defines the orientation of the input device at the timepoint when the second instruction is input as the reference orientation,compares the orientation of the input device at the time point when thethird instruction is input with the reference orientation, so as toexecute the second measurement.

3. The game control program according to paragraph 1 or 2, wherein thepredetermine axis is along the longitudinal direction of the inputdevice or the leftward or rightward direction when the player holds theinput device.

4. A game device comprising:

a sensor operative to detect the orientation of an input device held bythe player, the input device receiving an instruction input by a player;

a screen image generating unit operative to read out data of a golfcourse from a storage device, operative to generate an image of the golfcourse, and operative to display the image on a display device;

a determination unit operative to determine the power or the impact of ashot taken by a player's character controlled by the player, inaccordance with a time point when an instruction from the player inputthrough the input device is received;

a ballistic trajectory calculation unit operative to calculate theballistic trajectory of a ball shot by the player's character inaccordance with the power or the impact determined by the determinationunit; and

a measurement unit operative to measure success or failure of the shotand in case the shot is measured as success, operative to allow thedetermination unit to determine the power or the impact higher than thatof a shot that is measured as failure, wherein

the measurement unit:

executes a first measurement so as to acquire the orientation of theinput device from the sensor at a predetermined time point after a shotby the player's character is started, as to define the orientation atthe predetermined time point as a reference orientation, as to acquirean orientation of the input device from the sensor after that, and as tomeasure whether or not the input device rotates more than or equal to apredetermined first angle from the reference orientation around apredetermined axis;

further executes a second measurement so as to acquire the orientationof the input device from the sensor at a time point when the determiningunit receives an input instruction, as to compare the orientation of theinput device at that time point with the reference orientation, and asto measure whether or not the orientation of the input device at thattime point is within a predetermined second angle from the referenceorientation around the predetermined axis; and

measures that the shot succeeds if both of the first measurement resultand the second measurement result are positive.

5. A method for controlling a game comprising:

acquiring the orientation of an input device, which receives aninstruction input by a player and which is held by the player, from asensor for detecting the orientation of the input device;

reading out data of a golf course from a storage device, generating animage of the golf course, and displaying the image on a display device;

determining the power or the impact of a shot taken by a player'scharacter controlled by the player, in accordance with a time point whenan instruction from the player input through the input device isreceived;

calculating the ballistic trajectory of a ball shot by the player'scharacter in accordance with the power or the impact determined; and

measuring success or failure of the shot and in case the shot ismeasured as success, allowing the determination unit to determine thepower or the impact higher than that of a shot that is measured asfailure, wherein

the measuring includes:

executing a first measurement so as to acquire the orientation of theinput device from the sensor at a predetermined time point after a shotby the player's character is started, as to define the orientation atthe predetermined time point as a reference orientation, as to acquirean orientation of the input device from the sensor after that, and as tomeasure whether or not the input device rotates more than or equal to apredetermined first angle from the reference orientation around apredetermined axis;

executing a second measurement so as to acquire the orientation of theinput device from the sensor at a time point when receiving the inputinstruction, as to compare the orientation of the input device at thattime point with the reference orientation, and as to measure whether ornot the orientation of the input device at that time point is within apredetermined second angle from the reference orientation around thepredetermined axis; and

measuring that the shot succeeds if both of the first measurement resultand the second measurement result are positive.

What is claimed is:
 1. A game device having a processor for executingplaying a golf game, the game device comprising: an input devicecomprising at least one button located on a housing of the game device;a tri-axial gyro sensor for measuring an orientation of the game devicewhen held by a user; a display device for displaying an image of a golfcourse of the golf game on the display device; wherein the processordetermines a success of a power shot in the golf game by executing thesteps of: a. acquiring a first input instruction from the input deviceby the user using the processor; b. acquiring a second input instructionfrom the input device after the first input instruction within a firstpredetermined time period using the processor; c. if the second inputinstruction occurred within the first predetermined time period,acquiring a first orientation of the game device from the tri-axial gyrosensor when the second input instruction is received; d. setting thefirst orientation as a reference orientation; e. receiving a third inputinstruction from the input device within a second predetermined timeperiod after the second input instruction; f. if the third inputinstruction occurred within the second predetermined time period,acquiring a second orientation of the game device from the tri-axialgyro sensor when the third input instruction is received; g. measuringan angular displacement of the game device between the first orientationand the second orientation; and h. if the angular displacement isgreater than a first angular displacement and within a range of a secondangle, executing the power shot by displaying a character performing thepower shot on the display device.
 2. A method for determining a successof a power shot in a golf game executed on a game device, the methodcomprising: a. reading out data of the golf game from a storage device,b. generating an image of the golf game on a display device c. acquiringa first input instruction from an input device, wherein the input deviceis a button on a housing of the game device operated by a user holdingthe game device; d. acquiring a second input instruction from the inputdevice after the first input instruction within a first predeterminedtime period; e. if the second input instruction occurred within thefirst predetermined time period, acquiring a first orientation of thegame device from a tri-axial gyro sensor in the game device when thesecond input instruction is received; f. setting the first orientationas a reference orientation in a memory of the game device; g. receivinga third input instruction from the input device within a secondpredetermined time period after the second input instruction; h. if thethird input instruction occurred within the second predetermined timeperiod, acquiring a second orientation of the game device from thetri-axial gyro sensor when the third input instruction is received; i.measuring an angular displacement of the game device between the firstorientation and the second orientation; and j. if the angulardisplacement is greater than a first angular displacement and within arange of a second angle, executing the power shot by displaying acharacter in the golf game performing the power shot.